Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed by some students at the Berklee College of Music in the late 1980s.
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2 Discography 3 Videography 4 External Links |
History
Their early line-up consisted of Charlie Dominici (Vocals), John Petrucci (Guitars), John Myung (Bass), Mike Portnoy (Drums), and Kevin Moore (Keyboards). This line-up recorded the album When Dream and Day Unite (1989), following which Dominici was replaced by the Canadian James LaBrie.
The band came to wider prominence with their next album, Images and Words (1992), whose evocative lyrics and the technical performances of the band drew peoples' attention. Their next album, Awake (1994) built on this attention even though keyboardist Moore departed, immediately following its release, to pursue a solo recording career. Moore was replaced by Derek Sherinian but has remained an important figure in the minds of many Dream Theater fans for his work during this stage of the band's career.
A Change of Seasons (1995) is named after the title track, a 23-minute epic in seven movements dealing with mortality and living life to the full. It is filled out by a selection of live covers of songs by bands that influenced Dream Theater; other such covers (particularly of Rush) circulate as bootlegs. DT is fond of playing note-perfect covers as concert encores, on one occasion reproducing the entire Master of Puppets album by Metallica note for note.
Their fifth album, Falling Into Infinity (1997), sparked some initial controversy among DT fans because it seemed to take a more mainstream, radio-friendly approach (possibly at the behest of their record label). However, this perceived downturn was short-lived. Their next album, Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory (1999), is a concept album and builds upon a song from Images and Words called "Metropolis-Part 1." It is essentially a reincarnation story concerning a man who is haunted by the memories of a young woman murdered decades before. Prior to this album, keyboardist Sherinian was replaced by Jordan Rudess, who had worked with Petrucci and Portnoy in Liquid Tension Experiment.
In 2002, Dream Theater released a double album, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, the first disc of which consists of five fairly experimental tracks, addressing topics like Portnoy's alcohol addiction ("The Glass Prison"), stem cell research ("The Great Debate") and various religious issues ("Blind Faith," "Misunderstood"). The second disc is a 40-minute conceptual suite dealing with the subject of mental illness via six vignettes, each describing a different condition.
Train of Thought (2003) extends the harsh metal sound of tracks like "The Glass Prison" from Six Degrees. While there are radio-friendly moments on the album (the ode to self-assurance "As I am" and the first four minutes of "Endless Sacrifice"), it is overall a rather dark record.
Members of the band have been noted for their virtuoso skills and performances. Particularly Portnoy (q.v.), who has received numerous awards and been instrumental in founding several other progressive rock groups. Portnoy, Petrucci, and Rudess all are in demand as "clinicians" (master class teachers).
